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Marie Thérèse Raphaëlle d'Espagne
Rafaela d’Espagne '(French: Marie Thérèse Antoinette Raphaëlle; Spanish: Maria Teresa Antonia Rafaela) (11 June 1720 - Present) known from birth as an Infanta d’Espagne (Princess of Spain), and, through future marriage to the current Prince des Romains and Duc-Souveraine de Bretagne, Princesse des Romains, Duchesse-Consort de Bretagne, Comtesse d'Etamps, Comtesse de Rennes, Comtesse de Montfort, Comtesse de Dreux, Comtesse d'Ivry, Comtesse de Richmond, and Baronne de Parthenay. She was born into the Spanish Anjou branch through Philippe V d’Espagne and Constantine Marie Casimire. From birth throughout her childhood, Rafaela was known for her apt behavior. She had a sense of inclination for politics and how the Spanish government functioned. At the young age of only 5, Rafaela had already known a total of four languages: Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese. Unlike most of her other siblings, Rafaela was secluded to the ''Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales''where she would spend most of her years learning the rigorous etiquette of Spain’s court. Spain, upon Rafaela’s childhood, was a rather conflicting country to mature and grow in at the time. From the War of the Quadruple Alliance occurring only two years before her birth, the abdication of her father, Philip V, and the death of her medio-hermano, Luis I de España, Rafaela had been discontent with the way her family was declining. Although she was only between the ages of 1-5 when many of the events eventuated, the young Infanta de España understood more than one could hope. For much of her childhood and into her years as a young adult, she became very pessimistic and desolate on the future of her country. Due to her worries, Rafaela would soon suffer from melancholic episodes and have restless nights in fear that she would be brought down with the rest of her family by the hands of the Spanish people. Many of the nuns at the monastery would point out Rafaela’s physical disfigurements which would also bring Rafaela into low spirits. Some would laugh, some would snicker, and some would even make comments to her. Despite the comment, Rafaela began to wear maquillage more often than not and was remarked by the Madre Suprema as a “''pretty little princess”. She put much of the blame of her repulsive appearance on the close lineage of her parents. She would inconspicuously despise Philippe V and Constantine Marie Casimire and anyone else who dare defy her for her comportment. Rafaela often stood against her parent’s views and would flout their decisions for her. However, when the year 1730 was coming to a quick conclusion, many gossips of a betrothment between Rafaela d’Espagne and Michel Maximilien de Bretagne, the Prince des Romains, occurred. The Infanta, in surprising accordance with this engagement proposed by her father, the conclusion for her engagement to her first cousin would be successful. This affiance would make her the future Princesse des Romains and, to her aspirations, the Impératrice de Grandelumière. Early Life ''WIP (1720 - 1735)'' '''Birth Marie Thérèse Antoinette Raphaëlle (Spanish: María Teresa Antonia Rafaela de Anjou de España) was born on the 11th June 1720 in the Púrpura of the Alcazar Royal de Madrid to Philippe V (Felipe V) d’Espagne, Roi d’Espagne, and Constantine Marie Casimire de Grandelumière, Reina d’Espagne, and Princesse de la Porphyre. Through Philippe V, her paternal grandparents had been Constantin X & XXI and Marie Ambroisie d’Autriche. From Constantine, her maternal grandparents would be the current Impératrice-Mère, Marie Amélie Élisabeth Catherine de Bretagne, and the past Archiduc de Constantinoble, Justin Pétrone Auguste de Grandelumière. The day that the new Infanta d’Espagne was born had been a more climatic one than anyone could have hoped. The poor hallucinating Constantine Marie Casimire had suffered a fit of rage, reporting that she had seen the many spirits of the past Kings and Queens of Spain such as Isabella I and the predecessor to Philippe V, the crazed Charles II. Not only had the court suffered a terrifying moment with their Reina, but the entire country experienced an ill-inducing heatwave for nearly two weeks more after the birth of the Infanta that caused many citizens of Madrid, Guadalajara, and many other central cities of Spain to either catch the flu or even possibly die. Multiple Spanish scientists had recorded the day of the 11th June 1720 to be the hottest so far. The nobility of Spain saw this as a curse placed down onto the Spanish-Anjou family and begrudgingly refused to visit the court of their king during the labor of the new addition to the Spanish-Anjou’s. The hallucinations for the Spanish Reina continued onward and only worsened throughout the hot summers day. The many physicians that had tended to the Reina saw this as a sign that she had been in labor for much of the day. Previous records of the Reina’s past labors had shown psychological effects instigated by the birth of a child. As Constantine was placed into bed, she suddenly began to scream. The Duque de Frías''would later take note of the birth as “''terrifying” and that “''the poor Reina screamed more than one could ever expect. It was as if she were giving birth to the antichrist and we were all to bear witness to this birth of a new Satan on the heavenly earth.” The bellowing of Constantine would continue on into the evening hours with many courtiers who observed the labor of Constantine dismissing themselves to their own chambers. The poor Reina would continuously fade in and out from the world and into her own as the small human began to slither from her weakened body. The Cardinal Alberoni, a trusted advisor to Philippe V, would continue to pray over the Reina’s body and even reportedly performed an exorcism to remove the evil spirits that were attacking Constantine’s mind. Leading into the final hours of the 11th June and after nearly a six-hour procedure, the physicians removed the wailing yet lively newborn from Constantine’s bloodied body. Before Philippe V could even take a single glance at the infant child, the Cardinal Alberoni took the being from the doctor’s hands, splashed it with holy water, and cleaned the baby of unholy spirits. After that, the baby was wrapped into a Spanish scarlet blanket and handed to Philippe V. As a daughter of the Rey de España, the newborn girl was granted the traditional title of Infanta de España. As an Infanta de España, she had the style of Royal Highness. The newborn girl was baptized nearly two years later on the 7th February 1722 in the Capilla Real de Madrid by Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. The Infanta had been decorated in the same dress that her mother, Constantine had worn to her baptism: a long, white, Byzantine-style dress. It had been a gift by the newborn girl’s Oncle-cousine, Constantin XI & XXII. The baptism began with a parade of nobles riding in their carriages from the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales to the Real Alcázar de Madrid where the baptism was to be held. Many citizens of Spain lined along the streets and threw white flowers at the carriages that strolled down the streets of the capital city. As the carriages came to a halt, Constantine began to hold the child close to her arms and even refused to Cardinal Alberoni to take the child. With that, the Reina de España lead the procession to the Capilla Real de Madrid with the Rey de España standing at his wife’s side and the other Spanish nobles who attended the event following close behind. The Cardinal Alberoni and other Spanish religious figures proceeded to the altar and began the ceremony with a prayer to the Virgin Mary. The Cardinal then requested the child to be taken from the Reina’s arms which was easier said than done. The Reina burst into tears and ran out of the chapel in a fit of rage. The head of her household quickly followed behind the Reina and motioned to the Cardinal to carry on with the ceremony. Philippe V watched his wife leave their daughter’s ceremony with disappointment and raised himself up to the altar to declare the child’s name to the Cardinal and the rest of the court: María Teresa Antonia Rafaela, María in honor of her mother and Marie II, Teresa in honor of her lineage, Antonia for the chosen name of Philippe V and Rafaela in honor of Philippe V’s sister, the Reine de Inglaterra. The trumpets sounded and a song that was written by Pablo Nassarre was performed by the choir singers. The music rang out throughout the chapel and the nobles that were on the palace grounds cheered as the Cardinal Alberoni lifted Rafaela into the Spanish sun. The many bells across Madrid rang out in honor of the baptism as the citizens in the city’s center cheered for the christening of their new Infanta. '''Early Childhood' Growing up, Rafaela had a childhood that one could say was prosaic and typical for an Infanta de España. She had the privilege of keeping residency in the Alcazar Royal de Madrid where most of the Spanish royal children were until their education could begin. During her short two years of billeting at the Alcazar Royal, Rafaela had enjoyed her time running through the halls of the palace and disobeying her governess, the Marquesa de Las Nieves''and a close confidant to the Reina. The Marquesa had been the first lady of honor to Constantine and never batted an eye at an order she received from the Reina. With that trust she had received from the queen, the Marquesa soon climbed her way up the social hierarchy and became a noble that deserved flattery and someone to rely on. Upon the Reina’s request to the head of her household, the Marquesa was immediately promoted to become the royal governess of her children. She was sworn to protect, stay truthful, and to educate the ''Hijos de España''with both her life and her spirit. If she did not (which she did), then she was to be removed from the court upon orders from Philippe V. The Marquesa, to most of the ''hijos, was a wicked woman and they absolutely despised her. However, Rafaela was dissimilar to these thoughts and in fact, looked up to Marquesa as her own mother. Rafaela trusted her greatly and was often seen by her side with their hands interlocked. If the Infanta couldn’t feel the Marquesa, she would naturally cry until the Marquesa would attend to her princess. Often times, Constantine’s hallucinating mind made all of the children upset. As they grew older, it became more natural to them, but it took time to adjust. Rafaela would innately cry as her mother entered the nursery or anywhere she was, declaring that spirits had been in that room. The Reina was quickly escorted out by her ladies while the Marquesa huddled the children together and told them stories of distant lands and other topics that a little mind like the Infantas could understand. The Infanta would smile and act happy, but on the inside, she felt sad and one day, she broke. As the winter months of 1723 began to roll into Spain, the condition of Constantine began to worsen. Not only did Constantine begin to drastically drop in emotions, but Philippe V did as well. The winter of 1723 had been forecasted to be doleful. The nobles of the Spanish court began to sniffle and sneeze, and often times would be dismissed due to the scare that the Rey or his Reina would become sick more than they already would. Many people in Spain would lose their food, animals, and even family members. Most of the victims that were susceptible to the sickness that hovered over Madrid for a long while were children and the only royal child to catch it was the small Rafaela. Her body broke out with red dots and her entire body would become blanched. She was confined to her chambers and all members of the Spanish Royal Family were refused a visit. The sickness had been highly contagious and unknown to most physicians. The doctors proclaimed that the Infanta had caught the pox and was expected to die. To the present day, the Infanta will commonly have visions of the pox and begin to have a breakdown over whatever was on her mind. The Marquesa, being the only person granted permission to see the Infanta, often did visit the sickly child and softly sang Rafaela to sleep. However, one evening as the Marquesa sang, Rafaela began to weep and have small convulsions that caused her to fall to the floor and hit her face off of the hardwood. She quickly brushed herself off and stood to her feet, looking up to the Marquesa. The Infanta stood there for a long time, examining the Marquesa’s face before picking up a bible and throwing it at her governess. She then began to throw other toys as the Marquesa rushed forward to constrain the Infanta from doing anything else that could harm her. The Infanta hid away from the Marquesa and shivered from both the fright of the Marquesa finding her and the illness. Rafaela apparently ran far from her caretaker, seeing as she found herself in front of many nobles of the Spanish court in her father’s audience room. Philippe V quickly stood from his chair, took the girl into his own arms, and back to her chambers. He called for the Marquesa and was asked about the event. The Marquesa simply responded with, “I cannot, Sire, for it is unexplainable,” and with that, the Marquesa was sent to a convent for disobeying her oath while the Infanta, after recovery, was sent to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales''where she was to receive her education early. '''Education' (1724 - 1735) Abdication of Philippe V (1724) Betrothment to Michel de Bretagne (1730) Handover (1735) Personality & Appearance Personality WIP Appearance WIP Ancestry WIP Titles, Styles, and Honours WIP